Just a few things still blooming nicely in my messy garden beds today.
4Nerve daisy
Cheryl
Fall Blooms
Mexican Sage, a cheap plant from Krogers.
Gregg's mist flower with a friend. They have been on this plant for several days.
Beautiful blooms!!
Bee party on the blanket flowers!
Cowpen Daisies gone wild.
Don't you just love all those guys?
Purple coneflowers and Esperanza.
There were no fewer than 6 or so bees on those blanket flowers this afternoon! I've never seen that many all at one time. They're very good sharing the same flower!
View across the bed of mealy blue sage, gomphrena, and Mexican Mint marigold.
I almost bought an esperanza today for 2 dollars, are they winter hardy?
Cheryl
I have had an esperanza that has lasted 4 years so far. I just drag it up under my south facing porch, and it has pulled through so far. Last year it didn't even die all the way to the ground, as it had in previous years.
I have also had a firebush for that long, with similar care. It seems that many of what are listed as annuals around here but perennial down in Austin and San Antonio can be overwintered with just a little extra care.
Dennis
Mine is in the ground and this is my 3rd or 4th year with it. I mulch it very heavily in the winter and pray it comes back. It's always the very latest thing to start putting out leaves in the spring, around late March or April when the weather is consistently warmer.
I thought there was concern about the decline of bees! I have had lots of bees, two kinds, on my lantana and other blooming flowers in the past month.
I was trying to photograph a skipper butterfly on a Velvetleaf Mallow flower today. And this bee came up and just chased the butterfly away like it had a perfect right to do that! Here's a pic I took earlier in the month of a couple of bees on that same kind of plant. Must have real good nectar for bees because they're at it almost the whole day long! Around here I assume the bees were really hit hard because of the drought and extreme heat during the summer...like everything else was. I didn't see any for quite a while. Now they are back and probably very busy preparing for the winter.
These toad lilies are opening for us. They're lovely! I got these from podster at the spring RU in Arlington this year.
Those are some nice plants Cheryl, thanks for starting a new thread. I love the Mex Bush Sage.
Stephanie....The pic with the gomphrena is georgeous. Your color combos are great. Me..I just poke here and there and wish I had done things differently later.
Linda the bees are very active here too. They won't let the poor Frostweed get a break.
Oh...some of the Frostweed by the dry creek died during the summer, I think, but most have been coming back since the rains, some came back from the roots, others from the stems, they put on leaves and some are even starting to bloom. Pretty much drought-proof, but even those have their limits. Normally would have been blooming for quite a while already!
I found some ornamental grasses looking pretty cool at a S.A. college campus this weekend...that late sun sure does make them look good!
And another shot...pretty! You think this is Gulf Muhly?
Yes, I think it is.
Sheila~Thank you. Believe me, the color combination was purely accidental! LOL I'm really terrible at actually designing the bed. I just stick stuff in the ground and hope it turns out okay.
Apache Plume in the xeriscape bed
I have 4 quince shrubs. This one thinks it is Spring
Veronica "sunny blue border" doing it's thing
Pretty, need to get that Veronica!
Lovely! Speaking of spring, I just remembered what else I saw on that college campus....Indian Paintbrush, confused as heck, because they bloom in spring!
Most wildflowers will bloom again in the spring if we didn't cut them down!
What is the bloom time for cowpen daisy? Those are really lovely.
Cheryl
This is the first year for them in my garden, so I'm not sure, but according to PF, it's Mid-Fall, Late-Fall, Early Winter. They were one of the last things to bloom.
The Wildflower Center says April to October on those. This was my first year with them also, but can't go by when they finally bloomed, because this was a very, very abnormal year!
Yes, and the "normal" seems to be very elusive now days.
These are my Cowpens by the driveway, they have been blooming all summer.
and a close up.
Some of the purple Asters at the Butterfly garden.
These are pretty common along roadsides and in fields correct? Where can I get one or some?
C
I have plenty of seed and probably will have some plants at the spring swap, they are annuals so planting now wouldn't help. I'll be sure to have some for you.
Josephine.
That purple aster sure looks pretty the way it flows.
Here's an aster that popped up near the pond.
Pineapple sage in bloom just in time for the few hummingbirds passing thru to enjoy.
Would I sow the seeds in the spring or now?
My pinapple sage has many less blooms, I think its not getting enough sun.
C
I like to sow seeds of annuals in the spring, but they can also be sown in the fall.
Mine were sown this spring, in May and gets sun most of the day.